This publication reviews the different methods by which government and specifically telecommunications regulators seek to pursue two inter-related goals of communication policy: universal service and rapid innovation. The Report seeks to illuminate the alternatives that exist for national telecommunications regulation and to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of these various options. The Regulatory Colloquium itself, and the preparation of the Briefing Report, were funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany. The principal author is Michael Tyler. The views expressed are those of the author alone.